Jayson Tatum achieved a crowning moment in his still relatively short, seven-year career by helping the Boston Celtics bring home their 18th NBA Finals Championship in 2024, defeating the Dallas Mavericks in an emphatic 4-1 series. Though recency bias might make it seem like it’s not the case, fans who have been following the Celtics for the past decade know that Tatum has certainly faced trials and tribulations along the way to his first Larry O’Brien Trophy.
When asked what the lowest moment in his career so far, Tatum named the Celtics’ loss to the Golden State Warriors for the 2021-2022 NBA Finals Championship as the most depressing loss he’s experienced thus far primarily because at that point in time he didn’t know if the Celtics would be fortunate enough to make it to the championship again anytime soon.
“For me it was the lowest moment in my career because getting to the championship is hard enough,” Tatum said on the latest episode of the Old Man and the Three podcast. “At that moment, it was the hardest thing I ever did and to feel like I didn’t have enough to win was like depressing. You start to have a little bit of doubt about yourself like, you’re never guaranteed to have another shot. So that was the fear part of it. Not like losing, it’s just like, will I ever get back there?”
The Celtics had a very bittersweet 2021-2022 season; entering the All-Star break that year, the Celtics’ record was 20-21; following the break they boasted a 51-15 record, the best in the NBA, and secured a playoff spot as a result.
The team would go on to sweep Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving 4-0 in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, battle to a hard fought 4-3 series victory over Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks and douse Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat 4-3 in the Eastern Conference finals. Heading into the NBA Finals, the Celtics seemed to have momentum on their side and looked like they’d complete a Cinderella-style victory over Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors; unfortunately, after going up on the Warriors in the series 2-1, the Warriors’ championship experience and Steph Curry’s offensive explosiveness prevailed and they’d go on to defeat the Celtics overall 4-2.
Not only did Tatum describe the Warriors loss in the 2022 Finals as the lowest moment of his Celtics career, but there was talk both at the season’s nadir and following the Finals loss of restructuring the team; in hindsight it may seem silly, but there was chatter that the dynamic duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown might have to be split up to ameliorate the team overall. Tatum of course, denied the claims and defended Brown in interviews.
“Obviously, we live in a world where we’re on our phones and on TV, and we see all the things about (how) we can’t play together, and everybody in the media saying that one of us has to go,” Tatum told reporters.
“We just had to talk about (how) we both want to be here, and we both want to figure it out. Because there are not many players in the league like (Jaylen Brown) — the grass isn’t always greener, and we’ve had some great stretches. I think this year hasn’t been what was expected, but I think, in the long run, it can be good for us. We’ve got to figure some things out. But I think the most important thing is we both want it, extremely bad, and we want to try and figure it out together. So for us to be on the same page, I think, is extremely important because knowing that, we’ve got each others’ back. We’re going to give it all we’ve got to try and figure this out, regardless of what people may say,” Tatum added.
Do you think the loss to the Warriors in the 2022 NBA Finals was the lowest point in Jayson Tatum’s career? Are you glad in hindsight that the dynamic duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown wasn’t split up, seeing as how the two led the Celtics an NBA Finals Championship in 2024? Let us know in the comments.
